Cavs Mailbag: Do Mobley-Allen, Garland-Mitchell Duos Work?

Spencer Davies answers Cleveland Cavaliers' fans questions before finishing a long West Coast road trip vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.

Welcome to Cavs Mailbag! In this daily mailbag, Spencer Davies will respond to fans’ curiosities surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the duration of the 2023-24 season. In order to submit yours, simply send your questions on X to @SpinDavies or via email at spindavies22@gmail.com.

After Wednesday night concludes a four-game-long road trip on the West Coast, the Cavs will finally be able to come home. 

But this evening, they'll be looking to take advantage of an undermanned, less experienced Portland Trail Blazers squad to split the trip with a 2-2 record. A win would be a big mental reset, and it should be expected that Cleveland will handle business prior to returning to Northeast Ohio.

Let's get to your questions:

When do the Cavs end the Mobley and Allen starting experiment? - @lsn92620

There’s no reason to try to fix something that’s not broken. I see zero evidence of how Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley being on the floor simultaneously is hurting Cleveland. It actually appears to be helping from my vantage point. It’s neither of their faults that the Cavs’ perimeter defenders are getting blown by. Their defensive rating this season thus far (113.3) is significantly worse than last year (109.0) and the previous campaign (103.7) because of that.

Allen and Mobley have had to clean up messes more often than not defensively, leaving them outside of the paint to contest or switching onto a quicker player to get beat. That’s not their fault, and it also makes logical sense that they’re not rebounding after stops since they’re out of position. In addition, Allen clearly isn’t at his usual conditioning level yet and doesn’t have the physical freedom he’s had at 100 percent in the past, so teams are running the floor.

On offense, there is an argument that both together won’t allow for floor spacing and will clog the paint, but I personally disagree. While there may be more room to work with Mobley at the 5, Allen offers a more reliable pick-and-roll partner with diving gravity. Defenders pay attention to him as a lob threat over the top. And when he gets the ball off a pass, he can spray out of the roll to the corner or find his fellow big man in the dunker spot for an easy two. If Max Strus and Georges Niang keep slowly breaking out of their skids, that’ll make people forget quickly.

Allen is essential to the Cavs’ operation, as is Mobley. Together, they make each other better and this team better. Each can play with the new guys in different facets too.

Jan 14, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) is helped off the court by guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and center Jarrett Allen (31) during the second quarter at Target Center / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Is it fair to wonder if the DG/Mitchell backcourt won't work? We focus on the Mobley/Allen pairing, but I have more concern about the backcourt. - @JeffStrowe

Yes, it’s a justified question, particularly if the defensive side of the ball doesn’t work out. We know that chemistry-wise and scoring-wise Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland offer plenty of firepower. Both can shoot the ball, make plays for their teammates and put pressure on opponents in the paint. With that said, there are moments where it gets too dribble-heavy and looks are contested, as well as times where unforced turnovers cost the team a lot. It is far from perfect.

However, this is not the time to pull the plug, especially after all of last season’s success with a lack of shooting threats. If Mitchell and Garland made it work before and have a more spread-out floor now, we shouldn’t worry about it working with those experiences behind them.

Garland turning the ball over in obvious non-passing situations isn’t a result of he and Mitchell being on the floor at the same time. Same goes for his hesitancy to shoot the ball on catches and dribbling in small spaces. That’s on DG. Mitchell isn’t exempt from criticism either, like early-shot-clock pull-ups and gambling a little too much on defense.

I wouldn’t call into question their ability to play together because those are individual things to fix.

When does Emoni Bates development at the NBA begin to take priority? - @lsn92620

It’s already a priority, and it’s also priority to not rush that process. Emoni Bates already received an unexpected early call for real minutes due to injuries. That was a good experience. 

The Cavs know they have a special talent on their hands. Reps are more important than tossing him into the rotation for a few moments here or there at 19 years old against more season pro ball players at this very moment. Barring injury, it’s not likely we’ll see him with the big club all that often on the floor. He’ll still be around though, soaking up lessons and advice from everybody.

Bates made his Cleveland Charge debut last Friday and put on a show. He dropped a game-high 29 points on 10-for-16 from the field, including 7-for-12 from deep. Notching six rebounds and tallying a couple assists with a block and a steal each was a nice touch too en route to a victory over the Wisconsin Herd.

When February and March roll around, we’ll see if Cleveland wants to add him to the rotation. But the numbers game and roster construction make it difficult.